How to make transport oil-free?

If the transport sector were to abandon oil in favour of alternatives, global demand for oil would be halved. The problem here is that the majority of vehicles are powered by internal combustion engines and the infrastructure is geared to the distribution of fossil fuels. Alternatives are biofuels, hydrogen and electricity.

How is TU Delft contributing?

Electric transport For passenger transport, which encompasses not only cars but also scooters etc., the best solution is electric vehicles. Why? Because electric motors are far more efficient than internal combustion engines. An electric vehicle uses only half the amount of fuel that is needed for a conventional vehicle with an internal combustion engine. Furthermore, the sustainability of an electric car increases with every improvement in the sustainability of the electricity that powers it. In addition, the batteries can act as a buffer in the electricity grid, making it possible to introduce solar and wind energy on a larger scale.

Battery technology

Lithium-ion batteries are currently the best batteries for electric vehicles. At TU Delft we are working to increase the capacity, shorten the charging time and reduce the weight of lithium-ion batteries. We are, for example, developing a special nanostructured coating which increases charging speed and we are also working on battery safety (for example by testing maximum loading and the conditions under which short-circuiting occurs). Read more about the research into lithium-ion batteries.

Design

The Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering is designing sustainable vehicles and sustainable products that are tailored to the requirements and tastes of the consumer. One such project is ‘C,mm,n, the car of the future’. Industrial Design students are working on the vehicle design, the necessary infrastructure and the market introduction in a joint initiative involving students from Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Twente and the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment (SNM). Read more about the car of the future.

Spacial planning

The faculties of Architecture, Industrial Design Engineering and Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science jointly work on projects in which the ideal spacial plan is designed that will accommodate electric mobility in the built environment .

D-Incert

The Dutch Innovation Centre for the Electrification of Road Transport − a TU Delft initiative which now has around 70 members drawn from research and educational institutions, the private sector and government agencies − is intended to pave the way for the large-scale introduction of electric road transport. Read more about D-Incert.

Biofuels

In addition to electricity, there is another sound alternative to petrol and diesel: biofuels. The second- and third-generation biofuels do not compete with food supply since they are made from inedible plant fibres or algae. In the Faculty of Biotechnology, for example, a new type of yeast has been developed which easily converts inedible plant matter into fuel. In this project the researchers used know-how from the Radboud University Nijmegen about a bacterium found in the intestines of elephants which ensures that these animals can also digest branches and bark. Read more about the research into the biobased economy and energy.